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We were asked to a multicultural supper, with folks from Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria, the Philippines and Japan. This colourful gathering is not in the big city of Edmonton, but in the very small rural Alberta town of Plamondon, at least two hours north in the nowhere of northern Alberta. We have a good Nigerian friend up there, Seyi Etim, who helps organize these suppers with his global friends from the area. I’m very sorry we won’t be there – we’ll be enjoying a Swiss Canadian Christmas in Fort St. John, B.C.

      Diana and Thomas celebrated their 20^th wedding anniversary, and the four of us went out for supper last night in what I like to call our little red neck town of Westlock, Alberta. The special was roast beef dinner, which Diana and I promptly ordered. Our waiter was courteous and friendly and we chatted a little. Somehow Robert told him he was from Switzerland. “Where are you from?” I asked him, detecting an accent. “From India,” he answered.

     “Our friends here (I’m pointing to Diana and Thomas) are from Argentina, you’re from India and we’re from Switzerland! None of us are from Canada!” And we laughed together. (Robert and I are also Canadians, by the way – I grew up in this wonderful country.)  

     Our waiter has been in Westlock for two years now. He said small rural Canadian towns are good to foreigners, offering jobs and a chance to come to Canada. He also said he saved a lot more money in Westlock than if he was living in Calgary, enabling him to go back and visit India.

     Two days before I’d been at the post office and noticed a very dark young man waiting around while the clerk was finishing his business. I wanted to ask him where he was from but was afraid of seeming rude. I’ve seen a few Africans around, and know from Seyi that there are nine Nigerian Catholic priests serving in this area. (Isn’t that funny, really? We grew up thinking that Africa was the place missionaries went to. Now they come from there…)

     When I go to the Westlock A&W for the occasional coffee or Mozzaburger, the personal behind the counter are very friendly Mexicans. We have Chinese operating a restaurant. A Tanzanian has long owned and operated a local hardware store. Then there are all the Dutch, Germans, Scandinavians and other Europeans like my Italian friend Les Properzi.

     So I’ve changed my opinion of our small town from redneck to multicultural. I guess I should have known it all along, but it didn’t really hit home until last night.

If you’re a bit disillusioned about farming, and need a pick-me-up, exchange the whiskey for this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcVpAs2FvMI (or do both!)

     I am always inspired by young farmers (or ranchers in this case) who are really excited to be part of agriculture. How many farmers tell their kids: “You’re crazy to want to farm!” In this video, three young Canadian producers join the Five Nations Beef Alliance’s Young Ranchers to tell their story: “Why we love the land, the cattle, and feeding the world.” Besides the three Canadians, there are youth from New Zealand, Australia, USA and Mexico. They assure us there is a future in farming – and inspire hope and joy.

     I found the video on the Cattleman’s Young Leaders website. The Canadian Cattleman’s Association piloted a mentorship program for young leaders in their industry this last year. Six Albertans between the ages of 18 and 35 were paired with industry leaders.

     The program offers two options. The industry mentorship “is tailored to active producers who exhibit leadership potential”. (www.cattlemensyoungleaders.com) Producers are matched with industry representatives in their area of interest, which could be animal health, international trade, marketing, research, environment, advocacy and/or policy development.

     A professional mentorship is geared towards pre, post and current college and university students who are pursuing a beef related profession. While on a media tour in the Olds area last September, I met Rosie Templeton. Rosie is in her first year at University of Alberta studying for a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, majoring in Agriculture Business Management.

     “She knows a lot of people in the Ag industry,” Rosie said of her mentor, Diane Finstad. Finstad is currently the Agriculture and Rodeo director for CKGY radio in Red Deer and a familiar voice to many Albertan farmers. “I want to get more into agriculture communications. She can introduce me to people; give me an idea of who I want to spend a day with.” Rosie, who is especially interested in communications between the consumer and producer, is very excited at the opportunities the mentorship program offers her.

     The first term of the program has been a success. Now the Cattleman’s Association is taking the program nationwide. They are looking for 16 young people between the ages of 18 and 35, who have a passion for the beef industry. Applications will be accepted to January 25, 2011 and mentorships will begin in April, lasting for eight months.

     Candidates who successfully complete their mentorship are eligible for the international mentorship program. Four young Albertans, including Rosie, will be taking part in the Denver Stockshow for a week in January, 2011. One highlight will be an evening with Temple Grandin. Another is a Roundtable event at the Canadian Consulate in Denver with other international youth, where our Albertans will do a presentation on the Canadian Cattle Industry.

     It all sounds pretty exciting – now, to be under 35…!

“CBC has someone talking about Africa and agriculture,” a friend tells me. Immediately I tune in and get the last part of an interview with Harvard Professor Calestous Juma. Professor Juma is the lead author of a study recently released (and already in book form): The New Harvest – Agriculture Innovation in Africa. (http://www.amazon.ca/New–Harvest–Agricultural–Innovation–Africa/)

     Professor Juma believes that Africa could turn from a hungry continent to one that can feed itself in one generation. The study outlines a path to that end.

     Africa has vast amounts of fertile arable land and plentiful labour, as Professor Juma says. He believes just southern Sudan, if properly developed, has the capacity to feed all of Africa.

We go to Zambia every year about end of January, when the grass is the greenest and longest. We’ve seen what is capable of being produced. We’ve seen it on big commercial farms run by whites and on small scale farms operated by black women. It’s possible for everyone. So what’s in the way? What has to change?

     The study appeals to African leaders to make agriculture a top priority in all of their decisions. Africa needs to increase its use of modern technologies. There needs to be continued expansion of basic infrastructure such as telecommunications, transportation, energy and irrigation. The study calls for improved technical education, especially for women.

     While global food production in the last 40 years has risen by 145 per cent, Africa’s food production has dropped by 10 per cent since 1960. Professor Juma says that is because of low investment in the agriculture sector. I would think that political issues also have much to do with the problem. The l960’s were a period of major upheavals when many African countries gained their independence from colonization.

     While Africa is trying to get a grip on its food production problems, countries like China, India and Brazil are investing heavily into the continent’s agriculture sector. They know its vast potential.

     Listening to the CBC interview, I am reminded again of the myriad of problems intertwined in this whole issue. Zambia has officially made agriculture a top priority, but the small farmer feels little or nothing of that. If there is no money to back the statements, what good do they do? Whose fault is it that there is no money? How do you get people to invest in African agriculture without the danger of exploitation of Africans? And the questions go on.

     Professor Juma speaks of the need for both a top down and a community orientated solution. Most people can’t afford to wait for the top down solution. A generation is too long. Too many children are going hungry in that time. I’m happy to be involved in a community orientated solution. But I sure hope African leaders listen to Professor Juma! (read one of many articles: www.peopleandplanet.net/?lid=29530&section=34&topic=23)

Happiness to this Canadian is….skating on smooth ice on a big slough under a clear blue Alberta sky. Even better is sharing the ice with my neighbours and their children. We got a blade on our quad this year and made a big Olympic size speed skating oval north of our place. Our neighbour Iman Koeman started a short track speed skating club at the local hockey rink. There’s been a lot of interest, and several came out on Saturday and Sunday to try out the long track version in the fresh air. Corine brought hot apple cider and hot chocolate – a party!

Happiness to a Chinese…is eating red bean dessert at the Dairy Queen. I learned that at the Zone 3 Alberta Pulse Growers meeting last Friday, November 26. The combination of China and Dairy Queen was a surprise to me – there are many Dairy Queens in China. (I used to dream of the Dairy Queen while living in Switzerland, doubly so in hot Africa!) The other combination: Dairy Queen and red bean dessert seemed equally strange. Not so in China.

     Sheri Strydhorst, executive director with Alberta Pulse Growers at Leduc, Alberta (www.pulse.ab.ca) told us that as the Chinese grow ever more affluent, they are becoming increasingly health conscious. Obesity has more than tripled in the last ten years and the incidence of diabetes doubled. They are looking for ways to make foods healthier. Adding peas or beans is one way to do that.

     Red bean dessert is a traditional Chinese dessert made with bean paste. It’s one way of adding health benefits to the fast food industry.

     There is research being done to put peas into snack foods, bakery goods, baby food and finished meals.

 

     As someone who sometimes does business in Zambia, I know the importance of becoming a friend. Eating their food with them is an vital part of business. In North America we don’t have to be friends with someone to do business – or do we? Don’t we take business partners out for lunch or a round of golf to discuss business too? More and more we are aware of the importance of good relationships for good business. I think we often have more in common with those of other cultures than we sometimes think. Just that the food is often a bit different!

 

Lately Alberta hospitals and medical specialists have seen me cross their threshold more often than usual. A close friend is in palliative care, fighting cancer. Yesterday I visited with old neighbours from my childhood who came down to Edmonton for open heart surgery. I’ve accompanied family members to orthopaedic surgeons and the like.

Joanne tells me how she’s continually amazed at the level of care and caring on the palliative care unit. I’m so glad she can be at a place where her pain is managed and she is comfortable.

Our neighbours were very grateful for the staff and medical attention at the University of Alberta hospital.

And I appreciate the access we have to knowledgeable specialists.

It’s easy to think that level of medical access is our right. I suppose in a way it is – we pay taxes for health care. We’ve worked hard for those taxes. But maybe it would be more correct to see it as the privilege of citizens of a developed nation.

Zambians wish! This fall I put my newsletters from Zambia from 2005-2010 in a book (“Greetings from Zambia – letters home from an overseas volunteer”). I tell one story of a mother who died giving birth to twins. One of the twins died within the next two weeks. I know that most likely both would be alive today if they lived in Canada. Another mother who gave birth to twins lost one after childbirth because it fell off the birthing table.

I write of a young woman we visited in Mpongwe hospital, who was dying of AIDS. Just a few months earlier she’d lost her three month old, likely also to AIDS. As so often happens, she didn’t go to hospital until it was too late – there was no money, even for transportation. In Canada she would have been taking antiretroviral medicine and both would most likely be healthy.

Another entry tells of how we tried to take Enoch’s mother to a hospital on a Saturday. She was very sick and the Canadian doctor with us felt she needed an operation. The one hospital wasn’t even open on Saturday. The other wouldn’t take her because there was no one at the desk to take admission money and anyway, the doctor wasn’t interested in seeing her. We took her back home. She died a short time later.

Not everyone there dies of course. I’m sure doctors and hospitals do amazing things with limited resources. But there’s definitely a very wide discrepancy compared to our medical system.

Alberta is having some heated discussions about health care again. I’m thankful for those who are fighting hard to make the system better. I know it is far from perfect. I know people don’t always get the care they want or feel they deserve. But ‘deserve’ is a relative term, isn’t it?

“This is a very, very momentous moment for Westlock Terminals,” began Dave Felstad. “We’ve come a long, long way from a small beginning.” The large crowd before him was gathered to celebrate what is possible when people are passionate about an idea and gather others together to make it happen. Dave was the first speaker at the grand opening of Westlock Terminal’s (WLT) new steel grain terminal last Friday, November 5. In 2002 Dave Felstad was among a group of farmers and investors who weren’t willing to let our local elevator die when Agricore decided to abandon it. New legislation in the Alberta government pertaining to New Generation Cooperatives enabled them to get the necessary funding in the form of share capital. Robert and I were among those who bought the first $1.2 million in shares, with no guarantee that this business would really work.

Farmers alone couldn’t have made it happen. It took the support of the Town of Westlock, and non-farm investors together with the farming community to be able to buy the aging elevator system from Agricore. They began operations in the fall of 2002 under the name of Westlock Terminals NGC. Now WLT boasts 295 shareholders and $3.3 million in share capital.

In its eight years in business $1.2 million has been repaid to the shareholders in dividends. “That’s money that used to leave this town to the Viterras and other big companies,” says Stephane Gervais, controller of WLT. That’s significant for a small community like Westlock.

That first year 40,000 tonnes of grain were taken into the terminal. Now the facility handles 180,000 tonnes of grain a year. The terminal management expects the 2010/11 crop year to be another record breaking year for them.

The grand opening marks the end of the third expansion phase. A high-speed facility, the new terminal can move grain about three times faster than what was possible before. The most up-to-date technology gives staff the ability to load a 50 car spot in under 10 hours, and they hope to load several 100 car spots this winter, giving them a definite edge.

There was a big grain company meeting in the second year of operation of WLT. Two of the ‘big boys’ told Dave, “You’re not going to be in business two years from now” adding, “We’re going to kill you.”

Westlock Terminals NGC is far from dead. “This thing’s only got one way to go, and that’s up!” says present chairman Harry DeWindt.

Dave’s closing words were, “This terminal serves as a source of inspiration for others.” He tells everyone “we’re not any smarter than you are. If we could do it, you could too.”

The success story of our local elevator is a tribute to the very exceptional board, staff and the community support that made it happen. We are all very proud, very excited to be part of it.

Twinkling lights, good food, a glass of red wine – the stage was set. When the first strong chords filled the community hall, toes set to tapping and hearts to singing along to: “I’m an Old Cowhand”. The strong full opening lines of Westlock’s 15th Rotary Dinner Theatre were sung by local talent Ted Brooks. Ted played the part of “Archie” in “Chaps’ – the British meets the Old West”. It’s ‘a show written for humour and wonderful music from the l940’s’ (from the dinner theatre pamphlet). It was wonderful and humorous.

You don’t want to miss Westlock’s big event, attracting 400 people per night for six dinner theatre presentations and two Sunday afternoon matinees. That’s a lot of people for a small town of about 5000 inhabitants. Often the presentations are sold out weeks in advance, so I was fortunate to get tickets that morning at the last table. That says something about the quality of the drama presentation.

Evelyn Caulkins, the musical director, has been with the show since the mid 80’s. She told me they start practices in August, three nights a week for three hours each, until October. The program is already set until 2013, as scripts must be found and brought in.

It’s hard to fathom that this kind of quality is all done by volunteers. It’s not just those involved in the play. Every night it takes 41 volunteers to work behind the scenes to make the evening happen – servers, dishwashers, setup… That’s an enormous commitment.

Westlock’s Rotary Club is very active, supporting a large variety of projects from close to home in Westlock and as far away as in Africa. Reading the evening’s brochure, I saw again the back of a wheelchair while at physiotherapy in Kitwe, Zambia last February. “Donated by the Rotary Club of Whitecourt, Alberta,” it said. I’d laughed out loud, and asked if anyone there had an inkling of where Whitecourt was! – Of course not. What Zambian would have heard of a small town along the long lonely stretch of highway between Edmonton and northern Alberta and B.C.?!

So when I attend the Rotary’s dinner theatre, I not only get top notch entertainment, I am also contributing towards a cause close to my heart. It could be the Foodgrains Bank project, the local high school choir, student exchange programs or Fandelle Girls School in Ethiopia. Talk about a win/win situation!

Outside, the first flurries of the season drift over the darkening hamlet. Folks stomp the snow from their feet: “Cold out, isn’t it!” Inside the community hall a buzz of conversation greets us, mingled with the enticing aroma of roast beef. Long rows of tables decked in orange plastic tablecloth are already crowded with guests enjoying Dapp’s annual Harvest Supper.

Brian Trueblood takes my money – $9 for those 13 years and older, $5 for 7- 12 year olds; six years and under are free. “Back in Alberta, are you?” he asks. The Truebloods have farmed in the Dapp area since 1912. His mother taught several generations of Dapp children to read before retiring some years ago.

The ad in the Westlock News said supper would be served from 5 to 7 p.m. Brian says they started at 4:30 already, because there were people lined up waiting. Many of the folks are seniors coming from Westlock. $9 is a good price for a full meal with coffee and dessert. Dapp serves a great spread – besides the traditional roast beef, ham, mashed potatoes, turnips, corn and gravy with pie there is a salad buffet with pasta salads, beet salad and vegetable salads. The dessert buffet includes trifle, brownies and carrot cake.

County Councillor Mike Cook carves the roast beef. Pastor Ken Stange presides over the mashed potatoes and turnips. A community harvest supper is truly a community affair. It takes a lot of people to put on this supper. Everyone is a volunteer – from the cooks with flushed faces stirring huge pots of food to the farmer waiters moving up and down the rows with thermoses of coffee and tea.

It’s the volunteers that make a community the warm welcoming place people want to live in. Whether it is baseball, curling, the senior’s hall,
4-H, or hockey – it’s all run by people that volunteer their time; people that believe in the value of community.

The first flush of guests is rising to leave when I arrive at 5:30. By the time I’m ready for dessert and coffee, the servers and kitchen helpers are sitting down with their own meal. Everyone can relax now, visit with neighbours and catch up on the latest news after a busy harvest. It’s been a good day.

Robert and I had the privilege of spending a morning with Bill Bouffioux, president of the B.C. Bison Producers Association. Bill and his wife Fayette run a herd of 250 buffalos (nickname for bison) along the Peace River hills between Fort St. John and Taylor, B.C. They made the switch from beef to bison in 1989, “when Grandma said, ‘No more!'” as Fayette put it.

The Bouffiouxs find that producing bison is far less work than beef cattle. They told us there’s no dehorning, castration, branding, or treating with hormones. There are no naval infections, no foot rot. No one gets up when the bison are calving. “Your handling is way, way less,” Bill says.

Despite this, the Canadian bison industry has seen a sharp drop in the herd size over the last years. The combination of high beef prices (before BSE), a big drought in Alberta, a fire in the Edmonton packing plant, and then BSE discouraged many producers. Since 2007 the herd in B.C. has dropped 70 per cent, to a total of 7250 bison on 53 ranches.

Now the Canadian Bison Association is calling for producers to increase their herds. Demand for buffalo meat has increased substantially and supply is no longer keeping up. Bill told us Ted Turner has a lot to do with that. Turner, the founder of CNN and America’s largest private landowner, operates Ted’s Montana Grill with George McKerrow. Turner just opened the 55th Ted’s Montana Grill in Boulder, Colorado on October 4th this year. Prominently featured on the chain restaurant’s menu is bison. Their bison burger is available prepared in 20 different ways, so you should never get tired of eating there! ( www.tedsmontanagrill.com)

There’s no denying that bison meat is good for you. Per 100 grams of cooked meat, beef has 9.28 grams of fat, pork

9.66, chicken 7.41 and bison only 2.42 grams (taken from the National Bison Association pamphlet: Why Buffalo). “Nutritionally you are getting more protein and nutrients with fewer calories and less fat. Buffalo is a dense meat that tends to satisfy you more while eating less,” states the pamphlet. Check this site out for all the health benefits of bison and some recipes to get you started using this healthy meat –  www.bisoncentral.com/bison-cooking-health.php

Bison are produced as naturally as possible, without growth hormones or stimulants.  The bison associations want to keep it that way. They grew their market on the basis of a wild, natural product. They don’t want to jeopardize that image.

“People are looking for a more natural, leaner meat,” says Bill. That’s a good thing for the bison industry. Now they just need to be able to supply the meat!